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Jesse Johnson
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech at the Defense Ministry in Pyongyang on Feb. 8, the 76th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 14, 2024
North Korea fires several cruise missiles in fifth barrage of 2024
The South Korean military said that an undetermined number of cruise missiles had been spotted over waters off the North's northeastern coast around 9 a.m.
The Galaxy Leader cargo ship is escorted by Houthi boats in the Red Sea in this photo released Nov. 20.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 28, 2024
U.S.-China talks fall short in nudging Beijing toward Red Sea breakthrough
Top officials wrapped up two days of meetings on managing the rivals' relationship, but saw little progress on addressing the crisis in the waterway.
A news broadcast shows a North Korean missile test at the main railway station in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 28, 2024
North Korea fires multiple cruise missiles toward Sea of Japan
The latest launches come days after Pyongyang test-fired a new type of cruise missile and amid fears that leader Kim Jong Un could be girding for war.
A man watches a news broadcast showing a fighter jet during joint military operations near Taiwan by the Chinese People's Liberation Army, at a shopping center in Beijing in August 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 27, 2024
Taiwan detects most Chinese military aircraft around island since election
China sent 33 military aircraft around Taiwan over a 24-hour period, Taipei said, the most since its Jan. 13 presidential poll.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a munitions factory at an undisclosed location in this picture released on Jan. 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 26, 2024
Is North Korea's Kim preparing for an actual war?
Some believe he may be disillusioned with diplomacy and is girding for conflict; others think the provocations are timed to coincide with U.S. and South Korean elections.
People watch a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at the main railway station in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 24, 2024
North Korea fires multiple cruise missiles off western coast
Leader Kim Jong Un has signaled that his regime no longer recognizes the two Koreas de facto maritime border, staging days of artillery drills in the area earlier this month.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Amur region on Sept. 13.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 21, 2024
In signal of closer ties, Putin to visit North Korea at 'early date'
A visit by Putin would be his first since he traveled to Pyongyang nearly 23 years ago for talks with current North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il.
A person walks amid the snowy wreckage of collapsed homes and power lines in earthquake-hit Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 16, 2024
U.S. military to join relief effort in earthquake-hit Noto area
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said that the U.S. military and the SDF would be working “side by side” in the operations.
An intermediate-range ballistic missile, said to be solid-fueled, is launched during a test at an unspecified location in North Korea in this picture released Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 15, 2024
Test of latest North Korean weapon adds to threat facing Japan
Pyongyang said the missile was “loaded with a hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead" that experts say is capable of evading defenses.
Keiji Furuya (left), head of a Japanese group of lawmakers promoting Japan-Taiwan relations, meets with Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party in Taipei on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 15, 2024
Japan finds ally in new Taiwan president-elect amid fears of war
Lai Ching-te signaled he will deepen cooperation with Japan by meeting with Tokyo’s de facto ambassador and a Japanese lawmaker just a day after the election.
People watch a television screen showing  file footage of a North Korean missile test, at the main railway station in Seoul on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 14, 2024
In first launch of 2024, North Korea tests intermediate-range missile
The South Korean military said the launch was of an IRBM-class weapon, which is believed to have a range of up to 5,000 kilometers.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during talks in Washington on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 13, 2024
China and Taiwan focus of top U.S. and Japanese diplomats' talks
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken “stressed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."
U.S. President Joe Biden gives a thumbs-up as he walks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at Filoli estate on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, in Woodside, California, on Nov. 15. Their meeting attempted to calm the waters and tried to convey a sense that the U.S. and China could effectively manage their differences.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 11, 2024
In 2024, U.S.-China ties likely to get worse before they get better
The trajectory of Washington and Beijing's relationship this year will have profound effects on Japan's own policies going forward.
Police gather for a large-scale search at the Wajima Morning Market, which was destroyed by fire following the New Year's Day earthquake, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2024
Plummeting temperatures plague Ishikawa quake relief effort
The death toll in the prefecture has risen to 206, nine days after a massive temblor rocked the Noto Peninsula area.
In Washington on Monday and Tuesday, Pentagon and Chinese military officials held their first in-person defense policy talks since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 10, 2024
China's military vows no compromise on Taiwan after rare talks with U.S.
The meeting came as China warned Tokyo over remarks by former Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso that Japan would join the fight in a war over the democratic island.
Police conduct a large-scale search at the Wajima Morning Market, which was destroyed by fire following the New Year's Day earthquake, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2024
Japan quake death toll tops 200 as police comb burned-down market
Police searched a market devastated by fire in Ishikawa Prefecture following the massive Jan. 1 earthquake, as the number of missing fell from 323 to 102.
People gather around a heater at an evacuation center in the town of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Monday, following the powerful New Year's Day earthquake that hit the area.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2024
Japan warns of strong quakes over next month as number of missing triples
While the likelihood of another quake occurring with the same magnitude as the one on New Year's Day has decreased, seismic activity continues.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, hold a news conference in a bomb shelter in Kyiv, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 7, 2024
Japan foreign minister promises aid for Ukrainian anti-drone system
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said Tokyo to provide the war-torn country with a drone detection system via a contribution to a NATO fund.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends an event with students to celebrate the new year in Pyongyang in this undated picture released Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 6, 2024
North Korea's Kim sends rare sympathy message to Japan over Ishikawa quake
The rare communication between the two countries’ leaders delivered Friday is believed to be Kim's first direct message to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada, in December last year. Trump's potential return to the White House could have serious implications for the U.S, as well as Japan, as he appears set to be even less inhibited and open to reason than before.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2024
Potential Trump redux: Unrestrained in Asia or bound by a changed region?
A win for the ex-president in November's election would potentially have big implications for Japan, given the death of Shinzo Abe, its most effective “Trump whisperer.”

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